A conventional resin molding machine is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P2010-83027. In case of feeding works to pluralities of press sections for resin molding, the work and resin (e.g., tablet resin, liquid resin, powder resin, granular resin, paste resin) are conveyed and set, by a loader, in a molding die set of each of the press sections. The work and the resin are clamped by and resin-molded in the molding die set. To efficiently resin-mold the works in the pluralities of press sections, the loader and a pressure reduction unit are shared by the pluralities of press sections to downsize the machine. Further, a molding cycle is corresponded to the resin molding action of the slowest press section.
These days, compact and thin electronic appliances have been required. Thus, a method of producing a semiconductor device capable of improving handling and production efficiency is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P2006-287235. The method comprises the steps of: adhering semiconductor chips onto a carrier plate; resin-molding the semiconductor chips; and separating the molded semiconductor chips as pieces of semiconductor devices. The semiconductor chips are adhered onto the carrier plate by adhesive tapes. After the resin molding, the adhesive tapes are removed from the carrier plate, then electrodes are formed, the molded work is polished and the molded semiconductor chips are separated as the semiconductor devices.
Further, a resin molding machine is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P2011-37031. In case of using granular resin, the granular resin will be scattered while works, on which the granular resin has been fed by a dispenser, are conveyed to each of press sections. If the granular resin is scattered, cleanliness of the machine is lowered. Further, cleaning operation for removing the scattered resin must be required. To solve these problems, in the disclosed molding machine, granular resin is previously fed onto a long release film, which is wound on a feeding roller and extended onto a hot plate, and the release film is sucked and held on a lower die. On the other hand, a work is sucked and held on an upper die. Then, the lower die and the upper die are closed to perform resin molding. After completing the resin molding, the release film is separated from a molded product and wound on a collecting roller. Especially, in case of producing circular products, the granular resin must be perfect-circularly fed to a center of a work so as to prevent inferior molding (e.g., imperfect molding).
Further, a resin molding machine is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P2008-221622. In the resin molding machine, granular resin is not directly fed onto a work. Granular resin is dropped into a resin storing section of a resin storing plate for temporary molding, by a linear vibration feeder, with scanning the resin storing plate, so as to feed the granular resin with uniform thickness. Then, an opening section of the resin storing section is closed by a release film. The resin storing plate is inverted, and then the resin storing plate is held by an inloader, the release film is set on a cavity concave section of a lower die, sucking the release film is stopped to release the release film from the resin storing plate, and the release film is sucked and held on a clamping face of the lower die including the cavity concave section. Therefore, scattering the granular resin can be prevented when the granular resin is fed into the cavity concave section at a time.
Some resin molding machines include: units for not only feeding a work into a press section but also judging if a molded work is good or bad; thermally curing the good work; and accommodating the cooled work. These days, compactly placing the constituent units and improving working efficiency, with linking the units with each other, are required. For example, in case of feeding works together with liquid resin and feeding the liquid resin to pluralities of press sections by one dispenser, a time for dispensing the liquid resin, whose temperature must be suitably controlled, must be long, so production efficiency must be lowered.
A structure capable of efficiently perform the sequential actions (e.g., resin-molding different works in pluralities of press sections, thermally curing good molded works) is not disclosed in any publication documents. Even if units for performing said actions are merely gathered, an install area must be large, maintenance must be troublesome, and control actions must be complex.
In case of using a thermal release tape, which has a thermal foaming property, as an adhesive tape for adhering a semiconductor chip onto a carrier plate, if the thermal release tape is excessively heated, by heat conducted from a surface of a molding die, in a process of feeding the carrier plate to the molding die and performing the resin molding action, adhesive force of the thermal release tape is reduced. By reducing the adhesive force, a separated semiconductor wafer (semiconductor chip) will be displaced by flowage of resin. This problem is called “flying die”.
Further, in case of resin-molding semiconductor chips, which are mounted on a semiconductor wafer or a circuit board, at a time, if the work is fed to a molding die previously heated, viscosity of resin is increased and cross-linking reaction of the resin starts when the work is mounted on or sucked onto the molding die. Therefore, even if the molding die is clamped, flowability of the resin is lowered and the work cannot be perfectly molded.
Especially, in case of resin-molding semiconductor wafers of 8 inches, 12 inches, etc. by transfer molding method or compression molding method, a flow area of resin is increased but a thickness of the resin is decreased, so curing the resin is accelerated by heat conducted from a clamping face of a molding die. Therefore, quality of molded products must be lowered.
There is a possibility that resin powders are scattered while a work, to which the resin has been fed, is conveyed from a resin feeding section to a press section, so it is difficult to treat the work. Scattering resin powders is caused by a work conveying action performed by, for example, a robot hand, or air streams caused by an air conditioner of a clean room. It is troublesome to remove the scattered resin powders.
In case of the method disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P2011-37031, wherein the granular resin is dropped onto the long release film and set in the press section together with the release film to mold the work, a shape of the temporarily-molded granular resin will be unstable (a surface of the temporarily-molded granular resin will easily become uneven surface). Therefore, air will be involved in the resin when the work is set in the cavity and thermally cured. Further, wrinkles will be easily formed in the release film, so quality of the molded product must be lowered.
In case of the method disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. P2008-221622, wherein the release film is sucked and held on the clamping face of the lower die, including the cavity concave section, so as to feed the granular resin from the resin storing section to the cavity concave section at a time, it is difficult to hold the release film in the cavity concave section without forming wrinkles. Further, it is difficult to realize a compact resin molding machine, which is capable of performing the sequential processes of feeding the works, resin-molding the works, thermally curing only the good molded works and accommodating the cured works.